Cellardyke
East Neuk of Fife · Scotland
Cellardyke runs straight on from Anstruther but feels a world quieter: a single shore street, a tiny drying harbour and a tidal bathing pool that still fills with every high tide.
The sea pool is the reason to come. It fills and empties with the tide, it is genuinely cold, and swimming there on a bright morning with the harbour to yourself is the East Neuk memory most people take home.
There is almost nothing to do here in the best sense — no attractions, no queues, a couple of benches and the washing lines that gave the harbour its nickname. Eat and drink in Anstruther, ten minutes back along the shore.
Self-catering flats above the harbour make good low-key bases, particularly out of season when the coast path is empty and the weather is the entertainment.
Don't miss in Cellardyke
- The tidal sea pool at Cellardyke harbour
- The shore-street walk into Anstruther
- Sunrise over the harbour, with the Isle of May offshore
Getting around
Ten minutes on foot from Anstruther harbour along the shore; the 95 bus stops on James Street.
Best time to visit
June to September for swimming; winter for storm-watching from the harbour wall.
Planning the wider trip? Our the East Neuk of Fife destination guide covers the whole coast, village by village.
Cellardyke FAQs
- Can you swim in the Cellardyke sea pool?
- Yes — it's free and unsupervised, refilled by each high tide. Check conditions, avoid it in heavy swell and never swim alone.
- Are there shops in Cellardyke?
- Barely — it's residential. Anstruther, ten minutes' walk away, has the shops, restaurants and the fish bar.
Where to stay, eat and visit in Cellardyke
Other East Neuk towns
Anstruther
The East Neuk's busiest harbour, its most famous chippy and the boats to the Isle of May.
Crail
Scotland's most photographed harbour, dressed crab on the quay and a marketgate of merchant houses.
Pittenweem
A working fishing port turned arts village, with studios behind half the front doors.
St Monans
A kirk almost in the sea, a restored windmill and the old salt pans along the shore.
Elie & Earlsferry
Wide sandy bays, watersports, a beach-front pub with a cricket pitch on the sand.